James H. "Jim" White, Warrant Officer RAAF

[Grant Bowker]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

Few more pics from Jim's old album. Snow, looks like Canada somewhere !

I read the license plate on the propellor driven snowcraft in the first photo as being from Manitoba.
WRT the second photo - According to a bit of web snooping (starting with wiki, then http://pastforward.winnipeg.ca/digit...erman/id/2367/) RCAF No. 2 Manning Depot was located on the fairgrounds at 1010 Victoria Avenue, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, R7A 1A9. Based on the address, this might be the present Brandon Armoury but details of the buildings don't match in photos. On the other hand, quite a bit could have changed during renovations/repairs over the years. (there are also references to No. 2 Manning Depot being in St Jean, Quebec however I think this may have been a 50s-60s location.)

4th photo - CPR Docks Vancouver are no longer working docks. The caption on the photo at https://www.flickr.com/photos/37908073@N04/3842903702 ststes they've been taken over by Canada place and the Convention Center https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ca...4d-123.1111209

[David Dunlop]

Hi Grant.

The photo with the snow machines was taken at the Manitoba Legislative Building in Winnipeg. Those are the main floor windows and parking like that used to be on the north side of the building, facing Broadway Avenue. Just off image to the left was Osborne Street and the old Labatts Brewery and Beer Store.

The No. 2 Manning Depot in Brandon was in the old Livestock Building from the Brandon Fair. Converted to human occupants during the war, it became the post war hockey arena for the Brandon Wheat Kings. It was located just down the street from the Brandon Armoury but was torn down a few years ago to make a parking lot for the Brandon Police HQ.

David

[Grant Bowker]

I did wonder about the police building area, about the same address but Victoria Sreet East as opposed to plain Victoria Street. Neither area shows evidence of a fairground, and fairgrounds are usually on the edge of town...
I'm pretty sure other Manning Depots were also frequently the fair livestock buildings. They were large, usually only used seasonally and I'm sure a lot of the recruits felt they were being herded like the former occupants of the buildings.
The legislative buildings make sense. Cut stone construction wasn't usually the choice for cheap, fast builds....

[Dan Martel]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

The photo with the snow machines was taken at the Manitoba Legislative Building in Winnipeg. Just off image to the left was Osborne Street...

Being a font of totally useless information, I know that the Manitoba legislative building was constructed the on the site of the original wooden Fort Osborne, the location of the Permanent Force garrison in Winnipeg and HQ of Military District 10. When the fort was torn down and the garrison moved to the new Fort Osborne Barracks in Tuxedo Park, the legislature was built where it once stood. Hence, Osborne Street.

Originally Posted by Grant Bowker

I'm pretty sure other Manning Depots were also frequently the fair livestock buildings. They were large, usually only used seasonally and I'm sure a lot of the recruits felt they were being herded like the former occupants of the buildings.

No 1 Manning Depot in Toronto was located in the aromatic Equine Building of the Canadian National Exhibition. Recruits were allocated four to a stall.

Cheers,
Dan.